It was clear that unless a comrade died, ninjas did not feel deeply about the death of an enemy.
This had been drilled into them during their time at the Ninja Academy—nothing more than brainwashing education about self-sacrifice.
Children whose moral framework was still developing were easily influenced.
"Let's go. We're heading toward the tower." Kiyoshi glanced at the sky. It was already afternoon.
They would likely reach the tower in the evening.
Half the allotted time had passed. Many ninjas who had lost their scrolls would be lingering around the area.
Kiyoshi could use this opportunity to sell the scrolls.
Before concluding, Kiyoshi opened his [Trait] panel and confirmed the shimmering Evolution Path One below.
[Trait: Burning Heart (Green).]
[Requirement Achieved: Satisfy the minimum physical fitness condition.]
[Progress: (Completed).]
[Effect: Your heart is like a raging fire. You have gained a deeper understanding and sensation of flame. The efficiency of developing Fire Release Ninjutsu is increased by 20% on top of the original base.]
[Note: Can be further evolved later.]
Kiyoshi instantly felt a warm sensation. His heart thumped a few times strongly, then returned to a calm rhythm.
The trio walked together, separating from the Hyūga squad.
Natsu Hyūga watched Kiyoshi's retreating back, collected herself, and followed with her squad.
Homura Hyūga sighed, envying Kiyoshi's strength.
If he were that strong, why would he have to expose his shame for others to see?
Tetsu Hyūga ran to Natsu Hyūga's side, asking if she had been frightened.
Meanwhile, Mei Terumī and the others who had retreated began figuring out how to collect new scrolls.
Everyone's actions had changed.
And all of this was because of Kiyoshi.
Two and a half days later, the final deadline arrived.
Kiyoshi stood blocking the entrance with his large bags of belongings.
"Alright, who wants to buy back these scrolls? I'm selling them for five thousand Ryo each." Kiyoshi named a price.
The surrounding ninjas looked at him in astonishment.
'Wait, can these things actually be sold?'
Any ninja who acquired them would immediately destroy them.
No one wanted to create more competition.
The fewer people who passed the second stage, the greater their chances in the third stage.
"Me, I'll buy!"
"I... I want one too!"
"I'll buy five, here's the money…"
A crowd of ninjas gathered around Kiyoshi, wanting to buy the scrolls.
Even more ninjas thought of buying more scrolls than they needed, which would decrease the number of people who passed.
Kiyoshi was noncommittal about this, as long as he made money.
Kurenai and Asuma waited beside Kiyoshi.
Asuma was speechless.
This situation truly set a precedent—something never before seen!
"Alright, let's go in." After selling all the scrolls, Kiyoshi counted the money, put it all into the makeshift cloth sack, and carried it with him.
The result didn't disappoint him.
He earned a total of one hundred and twenty thousand Ryo.
He sold twenty-four scrolls.
This amount was equivalent to the money earned from several C-rank missions, enough for Kiyoshi to buy a substantial batch of explosive tags.
Before long, the proctor arrived and announced who had passed.
This was followed by some warnings and the arrangements for the third stage.
***
Noon, at the Hokage Office.
The results of the second stage of the exam had all been submitted to Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Hidden Leaf high-ups.
"Why are there so many candidates who passed this year?" Koharu Utatane asked in surprise.
The list of successful candidates presented in the report was absurd.
Eighty-one ninjas participated in this Chunin Exam.
Divided into squads, that was twenty-seven teams. With the set number of scrolls, the theoretical maximum was for half of the squads to pass.
However, based on past examples, the actual number of people who passed was at most a little over ten.
But this time, more than thirty people passed!
"The reason for this is due to Uchiha Kiyoshi." Minato Namikaze, as one of the chief proctors, was also present at the meeting.
"Kiyoshi?" Homura Mitokado was puzzled by Minato Namikaze's words.
Hiruzen, seated in the Hokage chair, put down the report, looked up at Minato Namikaze, and waited for his explanation.
"Lord Mitokado, Kiyoshi collected a large number of scrolls and then sold all of them." Minato Namikaze recounted his observations from that day to the Hidden Leaf high-ups.
That day, neither he nor Jiraiya-sensei had expected Kiyoshi's strength to be so formidable that he could single-handedly intimidate that group of ninjas, seize their scrolls, and successfully reduce the competition.
Then, on the last day, this morning, Minato had planned to descend from the tower to inform the ninjas without scrolls that they were disqualified from advancing.
But instead, he saw Kiyoshi selling those scrolls from the window!
Based on the thickness of the stacks of money, Minato Namikaze estimated Kiyoshi sold each for five thousand Ryo.
The boy had likely earned over a hundred thousand Ryo in total.
"Hahaha, such a thing actually happened." Jiraiya, who hadn't gone down with Minato, was hearing this for the first time.
This kid's way of doing things was very un-Uchiha.
He felt more like the nice, mostly cheerful people from the Senju clan.
"Ho ho, his actions are always so unexpected." Orochimaru said in his distinctive husky voice.
"Hmph, a money-grubber. That's exactly the kind of thing an Uchiha would do." Danzō Shimura sang his usual dissenting tune.
This was just an Uchiha being greedy for money, completely blaspheming the ninja exam!
"Enough, Danzō. Didn't Kiyoshi's actions just reduce casualties and allow more people to gain the qualification to advance?" Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke, tapping the ash from his pipe.
One must learn to look at things from another perspective.
Hiruzen Sarutobi realized that perhaps placing Kiyoshi in Asuma's squad was a good strategic move.
"Hiruzen, your weakness will be your downfall one day." Danzō Shimura snorted, picking up a report from the table to read.
Many ninjas performed well this time; they were the seeds of the future.
"Send these few individuals to the Root. I will mentor them." Danzō Shimura pointed to several Hidden Leaf ninjas.
"Very well." Hiruzen did not reject his old friend's suggestion.
Danzō Shimura had originally wanted Kiyoshi to join the Root, but Hiruzen had refused him.
Now, taking a few ordinary ninjas was of little consequence.
"Thank you for your hard work, Minato. You can now rest for a month." Hiruzen said.
This time, there would be no preliminary rounds, moving straight into the third stage of the exam.
The time was set for one month later.
Many people would attend then, and the Daimyō of the Land of Fire had also stated he would come to observe the ceremony.
This was a good opportunity to showcase the Hidden Leaf's strength. Strong nations would receive more commission missions, while weaker nations would receive fewer.
It was also a warning to neighboring countries that the Hidden Leaf's new generation was strong, which would make diplomatic and political pressure easier to apply.
"Yes, Third Hokage." Minato Namikaze nodded.
He could use this time to perfect that technique.
He already had a solid idea of how the Ninjutsu should work and could even perform it.
He still lacked stability, and it was easy for it to explode out of control in his hands.
Once he resolved this difficulty, Minato Namikaze believed he could invent this Ninjutsu.
For the current stage, he provisionally named the technique: Explosive Air Current Rotating Hurricane Zero Type Orb!
***
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